The meeting of the inter-parliamentary commission was opened by Viacheslav Volodin
Vyacheslav Victorovich
The Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the eighth convocation. Elected in single mandate constituency № 163 (Saratov constituency - Saratov Oblast)
and Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia Maja Gojković.
“It would be right for us to create an institution for the protection of historical memory. Taken into account that both the citizens of the Soviet Union, the Russian people, and the citizens of Yugoslavia, the Serbian people, suffered huge losses in this bloody war. We all understand that it is necessary to protect the memory of the deceased,” Viacheslav Volodin said, adding that “the people of Serbia actually put itself on the brink of annihilation by fighting fascism, and in our country, the war went through every family.”
According to the Chairman of the State Duma, the creation of such an institute with the participation of scientists and experts “will make it possible to take steps in the humanitarian and educational fields to protect the objectivity of that time, to protect the truth and memory of those who were killed.”
He reminded Serbian delegation that in several European countries, attempts are being made to distort the truth about the war and victory. “This offends us more than any sanctions,” the Chairman of the State Duma emphasized.
“Russia never attacked, it only repelled attacks,” said Viacheslav Volodin. “And today Russia is protecting the world from aggression in relation to even more countries,” he stressed.
Maja Gojković fully supported the proposal of Viacheslav Volodin.
“We must definitely support this initiative. This is extremely important for the Serbian people, for the Republic of Serbia,” she said, reminding that Serbia itself has repeatedly been the victim of historical revisionism.
“We would like to take part in the creation of the institution of historical memory at the parliamentary level,” said the Chairwoman of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia. She promised that the proposal would be presented by parliamentarians to the Serbian government.
“We affirm that we remember the heroism of Russian and Soviet soldiers who were fighting side by side with our soldiers to liberate our country from occupation,” stressed Maja Gojković. “Russia has always defended Serbia and never left us alone with the enemy.”
She recalled that in Serbia people care about preserving the tombs of Soviet soldiers and memorials. Maja Gojković also emphasized that Serbia is very glad that its representatives and leadership will participate in the events dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Great Victory which will be held in Moscow.
More opportunities for cooperation
“I welcome the extension of the competence of the State Duma. The significance of the State Duma is growing, it helps to develop parliamentarism and give us more opportunities for cooperation,” Maja Gojković also said during the meeting of the Commission.
She informed that in the framework of inter-parliamentary cooperation, joint initiatives are being implemented in the field of digital economy and nuclear energy based on modern technologies.
In turn, the First Deputy
Chairman of the Committee on Control and Regulations Valerii Ivanov
Valerii Viktoroviсh
noted that
contacts between the State Duma and the National Assembly of Serbia are
regular. Russia and Serbia are consistently implementing projects in the field
of cultural, economic, and humanitarian cooperation, as he said.
Zarko Obradovic, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, said, “if we speak about energy, Serbia is interested in gas supplies.” He is convinced that Gazprom and Srbijagas should consider the terms of supply of natural gas to Serbia taking into account the unstable situation in Ukraine.
